Congress comes out in support of Chidambaram, accuses Modi govt of vendetta

The Congress came out in staunch support of former Union minister P. Chidambaram, terming his arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation as “brazen personal and political vendetta” on part of the Narendra Modi government, and claiming that the ruling dispensation sought to divert the attention of the people from the country's 'sinking economy' through the action against the senior leader.

The morning after Chidambaram's dramatic arrest by the CBI in the INX Media case from his Jor Bagh residence in the national capital, his party was keen to emphasise upon the political overtones of the developments. It said that “the vindictive, selective and malicious manner” in which the former finance and home minister has been “persecuted and prosecuted” is “nothing short of a brazen personal and political vendetta”.

Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters, where the previous evening Chidambaram had made a surprise appearance to make a brief statement in the midst of speculation on the former minister having gone missing, Congress' communications department head Randeep Surjewala said the country had over the last two days seen how the government was hell bent upon using the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate as “personal revenge seeking departments for the party in power.”

Surjewala claimed that a “desperate” Modi government had stooped low to divert the nation's attention from the crisis in the Indian economy. “With the narrative on a sinking economy spiralling out of their control, massive and unprecedented job losses, shocking devaluation of the rupee as Asia’s worst performing currency and unfathomable crisis in all sectors leading to shutting down of factories and trade, we now see the depths to which a desperate Modi Government 2.0 will stoop to divert the nation’s attention.”

The party is keen to highlight the point that the case “seems to rely solely” upon the testimony of Indrani Mukherjea, who was the owner of INX Media along with her husband Peter Mukherjea and who is behind bars pending trial for the alleged murder of her daughter.

Surjewala said that neither Chidambaram nor his son Karti have been accused of any offence in the INX Media case, and despite the numerous occasions on which raids have been conducted on Karti and the interrogations he has been subjected to, the investigating agencies seem to lack sufficient evidence to file a chargesheet.

“Except for the blatant intent of the BJP government to humiliate and tarnish the reputation of P. Chidambaram, there was no occasion or hurry or reason to arrest him,” Surjewala said, pointing out that he is one of the country's most respected economists and politicians and has cooperated fully with the investigating agencies.

“Despite the hostile atmosphere prevailing under the patronage of the BJP government, there was no allegation against P. Chidambaram vis-a-vis either influencing a witness or interfering with the gathering of evidence in any manner,” Surjewala said.

Expanding on the political dimension of the developments, Surjewala said Chidambaram is not alone and there is a long list of people who the government was intent on targeting by misusing the investigating agencies. “There is a long list which includes Akhilesh Yadav, Mayawati ji, Virbhadra Singh, D.K. Sivakumar, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Raj Thackeray, Kamal Nath's family members, Ahmed Patel's family, Revanth Reddy, H.D. Revanna, Farooq Abdullah, Shashi Tharoor, Ghulam Ahmed Mir as also members of the media fraternity such as Prannoy Roy and Raghav Bahl,” Surjewala said.

He further claimed that if a person facing charges joined the BJP, it was like taking a dip in the Ganga and becoming pure again. “For example, Mukul Roy had cases against him. But after he joined the BJP, he got a clean chit. Narayan Rane is another example. Police was sent to arrest him. However, a week after he joined the BJP, there was no case against him. Two Rajya Sabha MPs, against whom the BJP had levelled charges of having being involved in corruption worth Rs 5000 crore, the day they joined the BJP, they were clean,” he said.

The Congress, meanwhile, has also raised questions about the Supreme Court not giving Chidambaram a hearing as he petitioned the court for interim relief against the orders of the Delhi High Court. The high court had on August 20 disposed of his plea for pre-arrest bail in the INX Media matter, refusing to grant him the relief and thereby exposing him to the possibility of an arrest by the CBI.

“I have seen for the first time that the Supreme Court technicalities pointed out by the Registry have become hurdles before a person's fundamental rights...We respect the Supreme Court, but it needs to introspect,” said Surjewala.

“What is supreme, Constitution or technicalities? The Supreme Court has in the past heard matters without any papers being presented before it and by taking suo motu cognisance of media reports. The Supreme Court has established the highest standards. Now, is the highest court going to dispense justice on the basis of technicalities?” he asked.